Control gear



W. FERRIS July 7, 1931.

CONTROL GEAR Filed June 11. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. A )'VAILTEA FERR/s A TTORNEY.

July 7, 1931. w, FERRls 1,813,040

CONTROL GEAR Filed June 1l, 1923 2 SheetswSheet 2 INVENTOR. MLTER FERR/.s

. 77 55 5 47 46 BY 9 mwa/k l 45 7 W 49 ATTORNEY.

Patented July '1, 1931 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE WALTER. FERRIS, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR T OILGEAR MPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN CONTROL GEAR Application -filed June 11,

This invention relates to the automatic 'control of hydraulic transmisslon mechanisms for use primarily in presses, borlng mills and other types of metal working or wood work ing machinery.

One object of the present invention is the provision of a hydraulic transmission control gear by which the tool or analogous operating element may be made to automatically perform a predetermined cycle of operations.

Another object is the provision of an automatic control gear of this general character which isv readily adaptableto various forms of standard machines and readily conformable tothe particular work at hand.

Another object is the provision of time controlled means for predetermining the operating characteristics of a hydraulically driven tool or analogous element.

Another object is the provision of means controlled by the extent of movement of the tool or analogous element for predetermining the operating characteristics thereof.

Another object is the provision of a control gear for hydraulic transmission mechanisms in which the rate of movement of the driven element is subjected to the joint control of a timing mechanism and a mechanism controlled by extent of movement ofthe element.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a control gear constructed in accordance with the present invention and applied to a boring mill of a well known type.

Figure 2 isa plan view, on a somewhat larger scale, of the control gear shown in Figure 1.

-Figure 3 is an elevation, partlyin section, of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figure 2.

The boring mill shown in Figure 1 is of a well known type. It comprises an upright frame having the usual work table 11 and drill spindle 12. Rotation is imparted to the spindle in the usual manner through the bevel gear 13 splined thereto and meshing 1923. Serial No. 644,712.

with a second bevel gear 14 driven from an appropriate source of power. Reciprocation of the spindle toward and from the work is eil'ected through the usual sleeve 15 surrounding the spindle and in a fixed guide block 16 carried by the frame. The sleeve is confined between collars 17 fixed to the spindle and is provided with the usual rack 18 in mesh with a gear 19 journaled in a fixed bracket 2O 'carried by the frame. The arrangement is such that rotation of the gear 19 in one direction or the other will effect reciprocation of the sleeve and consequently the spindle toward or from the work. Since the parts thus far referred to are old and well known in the art, a further or more detailed description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

In this instance,the gear 19 is actuated through a hydraulic transmission mechanism comprising a pump 21 and hydraulic motor 22 driven thereby. The motor'shown is in the form of a piston 23 working in a cylinder 24 fixed to the head of the machine frame 10. The piston rod 25 is connected in driving relation with a rack bar 26 reciprocable in a fixed guide block 27 and meshing with the gear 19. The opposite ends of the cylinder are connected through pipes 28 and 29'with the pump 21. The pump is a constant speed, variable displacement pump of a well known type, that shown being fully described in my copending application Serial No. 682,056, filed Dec. 21, 1923. Suilice it to say that this pump is driven at a constant speed from a convenient source of power through appropriate belt and pulley connections 30 the Huid displacement thereof being controlled by a plunger 31. When this plunger is in the neutral position shown, pump displacement is zero and there is no flow of fluid in the pipes 28 and 29. When plunger 31 is shifted outwardly from this position Huid is forced from the pump through pipe 28 to the lower end of the cylinder 24, fluid from the upper end of the cylinder being returned to the pump through pipe 29. This fiow of fluid, of course, raises the piston 23 and thereby actuates the gear 19 to advance the drill spindle toward thework, When plunger 3l is shifted inwardly er 31 through a lever 33 having a pin connection 34 therewith. Lever 33 1s mounted intermediate its ends upon an appro riate pivot 35 extending through. a slot 36 t erem so as to permit adjustment of the pivot lengthwise of the lever. A cam roller 37 at oneend of the lever is yieldably held against the cam 32 by means o a sprindg 38 The cam 32 is loosely mounte upon a shaft 39 between a clutch disk 40 fixed to the shaft and a clutch disk 41 adjustable on the shaft and yieldably held in'frictional contact with the cam under pressure of a spring 42. Shaft 39 is driven by a gear 43 fixed thereto andv in mesh with a pinion 44 iixed to a countershaft 45. Countershaft 45 carries a gear 46 fixed thereto and meshin with a .pinion 47 fixed to a shaft 48 drlven by a worm wheel 49. Wheel 49 is driven by a worm '50 fixed to a drive shaft 51. Shaft 51 is driven at substantially constant speed from any appropriate source ofpower. In this instance, it is shown operatively connected through belt and pulley connections 52. with the pum drive shaft53. The several gears and sha s just referred to are preferabl enclosed in a suitable casing 54 carried ya bracket 55 removably secured to the pump casing.

These gears constitute a speed reduction gear set between the cam 32 and drive shaft 51 and are so selected as to effect rotation of the cam at a rate best suited for the work at hand. In some instances, the gears may be so selected as to effect one complete revolution of the cam during the normal period of time required for .a complete operating cycle of the machine, in which event the position of the plunger 31, and consequently the'rate and direction of movement of the drill spindle, would be governed entirely by a time factor.

In those instances where greater precision is required than could be satisfactorily' attained by relying solely on' the time factor, provision is made for placing the control under the influence of a distance factor. To this end, the operation of the control mechanism is made to depend upon the position or extent of movement of the spindle during one or more stages ofV an operating cycle.

In the control gear shown this is accomplished by dividing the operating cycle into four stages, the cam 32 being provided with four stop pins 55', 552, 558 and 554, each marking the end of .anv operating stage. A

detent 56 mounted upon a fixed pivot 57 normally projectsinto the path of travel of these pins so that the cam is held against rotation whenever any one Aof the pms Ycomes into engagement therewith. The friction.

clutch, including the elements 40-and 41 above referred to, permits .the cam'to be so held without interrupting the normal operation of the driving gears.

` To permit further rotation of the cam, mechanism is provided for automatically shiftin ,the detent into pin releasing posie tion. his mechanism is preferably placed under the control of a driven element of the machine and, in this instance, comprises a solenoid 58 having an armature 59. connected with the tail 60 of the detent. The solenoid is connected in an electric circuit 62 including a battery 63, or other source of electric energy, the circuit being controlled by a lurality of switches arranged in parallel. ne of the switches 64 is un er the control of the operator, the other switches 65 and 66 being Each of the switches is biased toward open position by a spring 73. The arrangement is such that when any' one of the switches is closed the solenoid 58 is energized and the detent 56 is actuated thereby to release the pin and permit rotation of the cam.

The detent operating mechanism shown also includes a small piston 74 working in a cylinder 75 and arran ed to drive a plunger 76 against the tail 60 o the detent to rock the detent into Bin releasing position.. The piston is yielda ly held in inactive position within the lower end of the cylinder by a compression spring 77 carried by the piston tail rod 78 and interposed between the end'of the cylinder and a nut 79 on the tail rod. The lower end of the cylinder is in constant communication with the pipe 28 through a tube 80. The arrangement is such that when a predetermined pressure is built up in the pi e 28, tube 80 and cylinder 75, the piston 74 moves upwardly against the pressure in the spring 77 and through the plunger 76 rocks the detent 56 into pin releasing position. The pressure required to lift the iston 74 may be varied and controlled by adjusting the nut 79 and thus adjusting the spring 77.

The form of the cam 32, the selection of gears 43, 44, 46 and 47 and the character of the detent control mechanism Iis dependent upon the requirements of the work at hand. In this particular instance the machine is equipped with two cutting tools 81 and 82 of different diameters secured in the usual manllO ner to the endofthe drill spindle 12 and the stantially constant speed. Before beginning an operating cycle, however, the engagement of detent 56 against pin 554 prevents rotation of the cam. In this position of the cam 'the roller 37 alnd consequently lever 33 and 'plunger 31 are retained in neutral position and pump displacement is zero. To 'begin a working cycle switch 64 is momentarily closed by thc operator, the solenoid 58 is energized and the detent 56 swung to pin releasing position. The cam immediately begins rotation in a. clockwise direction (Fig. 2), the lobe 32 thereof lifting the roller 37 and forcing the plunger 31 outwardly. This causes a flow of fiuid from the pump 21 through pipe 28 to the bottom of the cylinder 24, thereby forcing the piston 23 upwardly and advancing the drill spindle and tools 81 and 82 toward the work. The height of the lobe 32 causes a rapid fluid flow and consequent rapid ,advance of the tools. The cam 32 is so timed and the lobe 32 of such length that the roller 37 arrives at the end of the lobe as the tool 81 closely approaches the work piece. At the instant the roller arrives at this point, the pin engages the detent 56 and the cam is temporarily held against further rotation. Then just prior to actual engagement of the tool 81 with the work, the dog 71 in its upward travel closes the switch 65, the solenoid is again energized and the detent shifted to releasing position. Rotation ofthe cam is thus renewed and the roller 37 drops into the reduced portion 322 thereof, thereby shifting the plunger 31 somewhat toward ,neutral position. This action of the plunger reduces the fluid flow from the pump so that the piston 23 travels upwardly and the tools downwardly at a slowe'r 'rate of speed appropriate for a fast boring operation. The cam continues rotation until stopped by enga-gement of the pin 552 with the detent. This is timed to occur as the roller 37 reaches the end of the reduced portion 3 22 of the cam and as the tool 82 approaches the shoulder e within the cored work piece. Just before this tool actually engages this shoulder the switch 66 is closed by the dog 71 and the detent is again released by the solenoid. The cam again continues its rotation thereby permitting roller 37 to engage the further reduced portion 323 thereof and thereby shifting the plunger 31 in such direction as to further reduce the pump displacement and to thus reduce the travel of the tools to a slow boring speed. The porlines b represent the original V tion 323 of the cam thus determines the rate of advance of the tools during this final stage in the actual boring opera-tion. During this stage the tools meet with gradually increasing resistance due to increased amounts of material to be removed. To avoid injury to the tools this portion 323 of the cam is gradually reduced so that as the cam rota-tes the roller 37 and plunger 31 approach quite closely to neutral position and the tools are advanced at a very slow rate. The pin 553 comes into engagement with the detent and the cam is again brought to rest a little before the end of the boring operation. The tools thereafter continue their slow advance until a collar 85 carried by the spindle comes in contact with the top of the work and effectively resists further advance. This results immediatel in the building up of pressure in the cylin er 24, pipe 28, tube 80 and cylinder 75 sutiicientv to lift the piston 74 and thereby cause a release of the detent. The cam is then again free to rotate and the roller 37 falls into contact with the portion 324' of the cam. This portion is sufficiently reduced to permit the lever 33 and plunger 31 to pass through neutral andinto reverse position. causes a reverse flow of Huid from the pump through pipe 29 into the upper end of the cylinder 24 and the piston 23 moves downwardly thereby cansino' an upward travel of the spindle and tools tion of the cam continues until the roller 37 hasbeen lifted into neutral position by the rise 84 in the cam, thereby reducing pump displacement .to zero and terminating the upward travel of the tools. The cam is retained in this final position by engagement of pin 554 with the detcnt until switch 64 is again closed by the operator to laegin a new cycle.

fiom the work. Rota- It will thus be lnoted that in the machine` shown the rate of travel of the tools at any instant in a complete working cycle is dependent upon the position of the cam at that instant. Since the cam rotates at a definite speed and since continued rotation of the cam is dependent upon the precise position of the tools at definite stages in the operating cycle, each stage is determined by an approximately computed time element andan accurately determined distance element.

In some instances it may be found desirable to effect fractional adjust-ments of the rate of travel of the tool. This may be accomplished without requiring recutting of the cam by adjusting the pivot 35 lengthwise of the lever 33 and thereby changing the relative lengths of the lever arms between the roller37 and pivot and between the pivot of plunger connection 34, respectively. Thus, by ad"usting the pivot 35 to the left (Fig. 2) the movement of the plunger 31 is increased relatively to the `movement, imparted by the cam to the roller 37. Adjustment of the pivoduces aproportionately mittently interrupting the action of said cam ot in this manner gr ater effect on t e plunger 31 .during slow eeds than `during fast feeds ofthe tool.

Various changes may be made in the em- 5 bodiment of the invention .hereinabove described, without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. In a machine tool or the like having a jdriven element, a variable displacement pump, means actuated by. fluid delivered b said pump for driving said element throug successive stages of an operating cycle, mechanism for regulating pump displacement, a 15.cam for controlling said mechanism, means operable independently of said element for driving said cam during each stage, and means controlled by said element for interrupting the action of said cam at the end of each stage of/the cycle.

2. In a machine tool or the like the combination of a driven element, a variable speed hydraulic transmission mechanism for driving said ele-ment through successive ,stages of an operating cycle, regulating means for said mechanism, a member driven at afpredetermined speed during each stage for controlling said re lating means, and means controlled by said element for inter- .rupting the action of said memberv at the end of each stage. v

3. The combination with a variable speed hydraulic transmission mechanism, and an element driven thereby, of means for regulating said mechanism to regulate the speed of s'aid element, a cam for'controlling said regulating means, a lever between said cam and means, and a, support for said lever adjustable to vary the eii'ect of said cam on said means.

4. The combination with a variable displacement pump of means for regulating pump displacement, a power driven cam for controlling said means, and a lever between said cam and means, said lever being adjustable to vary the .effect of said cam on said means. v

5. The combination of an operating element, mechanism including a variable dis-l 50 .placement pump for driving said element, means including a cam `associated with said pump for determining the rate of movement of said element during successive stages of an operating cycle, means for driving said cam substantially throughout each stage, and means controlled by the position of said element at successive stages of the cycle for modifying the action of said cam.

6. In a machine havin an operating ele- 50 ment, the combination o a cam for determining the operating characteristics of said element throughout successive stages of an operating cycle, means for driving said cam substantially throughoutI each stage, and

l means controlled by said element for interhydraulic-transmission mechanism for `controlling the operation of said mechanism until said element reaches predetermined positions at successive stages in the c cle.

7. In a machine tool, or the like t e combination of a driven element, a variable 70 ving said element, speed regulating means for said mechanism, means for controlling said regulating means, means for driving said control means at a predetermined rate to normall eliect yariations in speed in said driven mem r at redetermined time intervals, and detent mec anism controlled by the position of= said element for modifying the action of said control means.

8. The combination of a hydraulic transmission mechanism including a reversible liow variable displacement pump, means for reversing said pump, and means res onsive to an increase of pressure in said mec anism for effecting the operation of said reversing means.

9. The combination of a tool carrier, a work support, means for eiecting relative reciprocati'on between said carrier and support to enga e the tool and work, reversing mechanism or said means, and means responsive to a predetermined pressure between said tool and work for eiecting the operation of said reversin mechanism.

10. The combination o a tool carrier, a work support, hydraulic transmission mechanism for effecting relative reciprocation between said carrier and support to engage the tool and work, reversing mechanism for said 100 transmission mechanism, and iuid actuated means responsive to the pressure between said tool and work for eiecting the operation of said reversing mechanism.

11. The combination of a hydraulic transmission mechanism, an element driven thereby, and means comprising an electric circuit including switch mechanism controlled by said element for varying and controlling the operation of said mechanism and consequently the rate of movement of said element.

12; The combination of a hydraulic transmission mechanism, an element driven thereby, power driven means for varying and and consequently the rate of movement of said element, and means comprising an electric circuit including switch mechanism controlled by said element for controlling the operation of said power driven means.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 4th da of J une, 1923.

ALTER FERRIS.

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